


toss and turn without me

by addienicole (orphan_account)



Series: hendall au series [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, Insomnia, University Student Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-07-22 06:37:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7423924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/addienicole
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>harry is an insomniac and kendall is his window buddy</p><p>(or 'our flats are opposite each other and your kitchen window faces mine so we always see each other making coffee at 3 am au')</p>
            </blockquote>





	toss and turn without me

Harry hates university.

It was a hard thing to admit to himself after he had worked so hard to get there. It was his dream to get out of his tiny town. He wanted to be in the States to study.  So, at 15, he got a job at a bakery. It was owned by a lovely woman named Barbara who paid him a lot more than she should have, but it still wasn't enough to cover all of his expenses. 

By the time Harry was 18, he had given up hope. Sure, he still applied to the universities he was interested in overseas, but he didn't have any faith that anything would come of it. When his acceptance letter to UCLA also came with the news that he had received a scholarship, he was blown away. Harry was going to get to study what he loved, photography, in the place he had always wanted to.

At first, Harry was simply in awe of everything. He got a job, got an apartment- he was in America now, he had to get accustomed to their vocabulary- and he settled in. But, it felt like he hit a wall once he got there. Harry wasn't even taking classes related to photography. He loved to learn new things, but the classes he was taking felt so pointless to him. His grades started to slip because he couldn't concentrate. He wasn't interested.

So, that's where his hatred for university started. It got even worse from there.

Harry couldn't sleep. He would lay in bed at night for hours sometimes. Others, he would fall asleep for two hours, and then be unable to fall asleep again. He tried everything. Sleeping medicine made him feel too groggy in the mornings, and he either missed his classes or couldn't pay attention during them. He tried counting sheep, all that bullshit. None of it worked.

Finally, after weeks of trying to sleep, he gives up. Harry decides that if he can't sleep, he's going to be productive. He would go and make himself a cup of tea, and then get to work on the assignments he's been avoiding. He wasn't losing this scholarship. That's the first time he sees her.

Harry stumbles towards his kitchen, and happens to glance up at his window as he puts the kettle on. She's there, sitting on her counter top with a mug in one hand and her phone in the other. He wants to know why she's up so late. Maybe she's having the same problems he is. He isn't sure why, but knowing that she's up this late too, for whatever reason, makes him feel better. Safe. He's not alone. 

Harry runs a hand over his face. He clearly needs sleep if he feels connected to the girl in the building next to his just because they're up at the same time. Knowing that his thoughts were silly didn't stop him from following her lead. He hopped up on his counter and took a few sips of his tea. He needed to be working, not staring down some innocent girl that lives across from him.

They make eye contact as he settled himself down onto his feet, and the shy smile she gives him is enough to justify him sitting in his kitchen for half an hour. 

~

 Harry was trying to get back on his feet, and working at night was definitely helping him get back on track. He was exhausted for his classes the next day, but doing the out of class assignments was keeping him afloat. Harry was doing his best, and his professors saw that. A few of them gave him extensions on his assignments. He was grateful. And, because of this, his sleeping habits were starting to improve... which meant he was falling asleep around 5 AM every night, and getting two and a half hours of sleep until he had to wake up for his 8 AM class.

This also meant he got to spend an hour or two with a beautiful woman who happened to live across from him. They acknowledged each other sometimes, whether it was with a smile or a wave. It was nice, having someone there when he did assignments, even if she wasn't in the room with him. Harry had friends, of course, but none of them were up at that time.

It was still a mystery why _she_   was up at that time of night. Harry didn't even know her name, and he was too shy to go and ask her for it. It shouldn't have been that hard to figure out what room she was in. He could have held up a piece of paper with his number written on it big enough for her to see, and they could text. But, Harry was nervous. It's not like they were friends. They were hardly even acquaintances. Truth be told, the girl was a stranger.

Maybe that's what made it so exciting. Harry could imagine lives for her, and he never knew if the truth was better or worse. He hoped she wasn't going through the same things he was. He hoped she was happier. But, they did seem to have similar situations. They would work alongside one another sometimes, and glance up to check in periodically. Harry was happy. 

~

Once freshman year had come and gone, summer break brought a welcome change for Harry. He finally got some sleep. He was able to use the sleeping pills he had been prescribed because he didn't have to worry with oversleeping since his job started at midday. 

However, when he did stay up, the girl was still there. Sometimes. It wasn't an almost every night thing as it had been before. He usually only saw her about three times every two weeks, and Harry missed her. It was pathetic, missing someone he had never met, never spoken to, but he felt it. That's when he decided to go over and say hello. It was time for him to actually speak to her instead of just staring at her from his window. 

The walk over was almost long enough for Harry to convince himself to turn back. Almost. He was standing at what he assumed to be her door. Before he let his feet in the opposite direction, he brought up his fist up to knock at the door. Harry was trying to prepare himself, taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to keep himself calm.

When the door was opened, she was standing there.

She was even prettier up close, if that was possible. She had her hair up in a pony tail, and was wearing the most gorgeous smile Harry had ever seen. 

"Hi!" She chirped, holding out her hand for him to shake. "Window buddy! I'm Kendall." She greeted. Harry was swooning... in his head, of course. And, on the outside, he was staring at her. He was in love with her voice. 

When he saw her about to pull her hand away, a look of confusion crossing her features, Harry jumped into action. 

"I'm Harry; it's nice to meet you," He said quickly and shook her hand. "Window buddies, I like that." Harry tacked on. Kendall walked backwards with his hand still held in her own, leading him into her apartment. 

It was so strange, how at home he felt there already. 

Harry followed into her living room, and they got settled down on her rug. They sat with their legs criss-crossed beneath themselves, knees touching the other person's. The next hour consisted of a game of questions in order to get to know each other. 

Kendall was studying fashion, Kendall was from LA originally, Kendall's favorite color was purple, she loved puppies more than she loved anything else in life, and even though she loved designing clothes, it was her dream to be a model. And, she was often got inspired in the middle of the night. That's why Harry always caught her up so late.

He answered all of the questions she had for him which were mainly the basics. Photography, Cheshire, scholarship, insomnia. The two moved to the couch at some point during their conversation, and Harry fell asleep easily for the first time in what felt ages. 

~

Harry wasn't really sure how things happened between them. It was truly as easy as breathing. They came together seamlessly. He was at her apartment more often than not, and they just _worked_. And, Harry felt better than he had in a long time. 

Sure, he still got stressed. She was always right there next to him, and that's all he needed. His late nights had brought him to her, and he couldn't be more thankful.

And, honestly, sometimes he stayed up late just so she could take his hand and he could hear her say, "Come to bed, H." 

**Author's Note:**

> title from emotion by carly rae jepsen!!
> 
> this is hopelessly sappy and self indulgent, the ending is a bit weak, but i had fun writing it. haha. hope you like.


End file.
